Lent 2015 Newsletter

Dear All,

First of all a very Happy New Year. 2014 was a good year for IfM with progress on all fronts - so much so that our 'new' home is virtually full! Hard to believe that the Alan Reece building has recently celebrated its 5th birthday!

I know many of you have already visited but we would be delighted to welcome you again - and if you haven't been before do pop in and see us. You are welcome any time but there are already three particular dates in the diary for 2015 so do come along if you possibly can.

Thursday 29 January - IfM Open Evening: an informal event with displays and demos of our activities and many IfM folk around.

Thursday 14 May - Briefing Day: a more formal full day programme for industry with presentations from all our key activities and opportunities to meet with IfM partners.

Saturday 26 September - Alumni Weekend: the usual late morning briefing on IfM activities (optional) followed by family lunch.

As our activities grow we are always keen to hear from alums who might be interested in working at the IfM. As you will be aware it is much more than an academic outfit and our Education and Consulting Services unit is always looking for high quality associates - who better than ex course members!

With all good wishes

Mike Gregory

Head, Institute for Manufacturing

P.S. ACP/DMM and ISMMers please note that the Sharman Fund is now open and will welcome your support.

Georgina (George) Rose graduated with an MEng in Manufacturing Engineering in 2010.

In this interview, she explains how she has moved from smoothie manufacturer innocent to The LEGO Group, where she is now Inventory Lead for Europe and European Supply Manager for the LEGO Technic, Star Wars and Castles themes.

Executive Briefing: Key Considerations in Asset Management DesignThe Cambridge Service Alliance has published its latest executive briefing, ‘Key Considerations in Asset Management Design’, which investigates current asset management practices and reports a number of important findings related to the design and implementation of asset management systems in the context of a complex service ecosystem.To view the briefing, please click here.

Indian High Commissioner holds Babbage lecture at IfMRanjan Mathai, the High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom, visited the IfM to deliver a lecture as part of the Babbage Lecture Series. In his talk, titled: “’Make in India’: a new paradigm for manufacturing in India”, he addressed the State-sponsored industrial development project of the Government of India, the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). The project aims to use the Dedicated Railway Freight Corridor (DFC) as a backbone to help the DMIC become a global manufacturing and investment destination. The final objective is to increase the share of manufacturing in the country’s GDP and to create ‘Smart cities’ where manufacturing will be the key economic driver.

IfM Open Innovation experts present papers at 1st themed World ConferenceFour IfM researchers, Letizia Mortara, Joonmo Ahn and Tim Minshall from the Centre for Technology Management, and Ivanka Visnjic Kastalli from the Cambridge Service Alliance, attended and delivered papers at the inaugural World Open Innovation Conference in California. The event brought together a broad range of academics and industrialists to discuss emerging trends in open innovation research and practice. See bit.ly/IFMWOIC for a slideshow of themes discussed at the conference.

Outcome of ISMM Masters project presented to leading firm GEAFlorian Urmetzer and Veronica Martinez (Cambridge Service Alliance) presented the findings from the ‘Service counterfeit of spare parts in supply chains’ research, an ISMM Master’s project, to senior managers of GEA, one of the largest system providers for food and energy processes. Heads of services from the UK, Asia Pacific, Americas, Europe and Canada attended the presentation. The research findings pointed out practical suggestions for industrial firms on how to better manage the service counterfeit in their supply chains.

Business models research interest groupLecturer Chander Velu, assisted by Mark Phillips from the Centre for International Manufacturing and Anna Viljakainen from IfM Education and Consultancy Services (IfM ECS), has been co-ordinating the collection of research findings across the IfM’s various centres on the topic of business models, to be shared both within the IfM and with the wider research community. The resulting document was shared in a workshop of UK leading academics in the field who explored the role of technology and business models in industry and identified key areas for research and collaboration. This will be followed by an international meeting to be held in 2015, while in the meantime, the IfM’s interest group is now very much up and running and meeting every month. To learn more contact c.velu@eng.cam.ac.uk

IfM researcher helps set first ISO standard for inkjet printing technologySteve Hoath from the Inkjet Research Centre attended an International Conference at the Tokyo International Forum on inkjet standards this month. Steve worked on a document on Inkjet Printing for the International Electrotechnical Commission Technical Committee for Printed Electronics Working Group 3 dedicated to Equipment, where he is a UK representative for the British Standards Institute (BSI). The paper, which focuses on measurement of drop speed standards, has now reached the stage of Committee Draft for National Working Group comment. The final document will eventually become an ISO standard – which would be the first standard for inkjet printing technology.

Former IfM PhD student wins innovation awardJim Keri Li, a former PhD student at the IfM, has won the 2015 CES Innovation Awards Honoree held by the International Consumer Electronic Association with his company’s product, Smart Luggage Locks. The product, which won under the Tech for a Better World category, uses intelligent proximity-access securities such as smart NFC and RFID technologies to provide luggage security and tracking. More information here: www.egeetouch.com/products/electronic-luggage-lock

PrISMS case studiesIfM Education and Consultancy Services (IfM ECS) is producing a series of case studies to highlight the impact of its work with manufacturing firms in the East of England as part of the PrISMS programme. PrISMS started in July 2012 and, to date, the ECS team has worked with just over 100 companies to help identify priorities, develop business strategies and their capabilities in priority areas. This has resulted in the creation of more than 120 new jobs so far, as well as ensuring a further 45 were saved.

Wednesday 18 to Thursday 19 March 2015In this two-day programme, participants will learn how to use three powerful innovation tools developed through our research: Value Mapping Tool, Sustainable Value Analysis Tool, and Business Transformation Tool.

IfM Briefing DayThursday 14 May 2015A day of interactive sessions for senior industrialists and policymakers presenting the latest research, approaches and practical applications from the Institute for Manufacturing.